Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 1.02%, Shanghai Composite up 1.25%, Hang Seng up 1.19%, ASX up 0.39%
- Commodities : Gold at $1563.65 (+0.52%), Silver at $17.67 (+0.63%), Brent Oil at $54.44 (+0.89%), WTI Oil at $50.02 (+0.83%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.584, UK 10-year yield at 0.551, Germany 10-year yield at -0.408
News & Data:
- (CNY) Caixin Services PMI 51.8 vs 52 expected
- (NZD) Unemployment Rate 4.00% vs 4.20% expected
- (NZD) Employment Change q/q 0.00% vs 0.30% expected
- (AUD) Cash Rate 0.75% vs 0.75% expected
- Trump touts economy, strong employment in state of the union
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street amid optimism that China’s stimulus measures will help offset the economic impact of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The Chinese market is advancing almost 2 percent. Chinese health officials said that 490 people have died in the country and a total of 24,324 cases have been confirmed related to the coronavirus outbreak.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1% while the Topix index was up 1.1%. Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.32%, with most sectors trading up. The heavily weighted financial subindex retraced most of its earlier gains to trade fractionally higher as most major banking stocks in the country gained. Chinese mainland markets rose after the first half-hour of trade, with the Shanghai Composite up 1.3% and Shenzhen Composite higher by 2.2%.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar last traded at 97.982 against a basket of peers, climbing from a low of 97.787 in the previous session. OPEC and its allies are considering cutting oil output by a further 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) due to the impact on oil demand from the virus, sources tell Reuters.
Brent futures have lost around 16% since China confirmed on Jan. 21 that human-to-human infection of the previously unknown virus is possible, which kicked off a rout in global markets as the number of cases and the death toll rose.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Final Services PMI
- 12:15 PM GMT – (EUR) ECB President Lagarde Speaks
- 01:15 PM GMT – (USD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Trade Balance
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
- 03:30 PM GMT – (USD) Crude Oil Inventories
- 05:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Gov Council Member Wilkins Speaks